Toy spinner.



W. H. PHBNICE.

TOY SPINNER.

ArrLIoA'rIon rum 1211.28. 190e.

Patepted Apr. 11, 1911.

WILLIAM H. PHENICE, OF NORTH VERNON, INDIANA.

TOY SPINNER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

Application filed April 28, 1909. Serial No. 492,668.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-I. PnENrcn, citizen of the United States, residing at North Vernon, in the county of Jennings and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Spinners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in games and toys, and relates particularly to buzzers and whirligigs.

The invention has for its primary object a simple and otherwise improved construction of whirligig or top that is composed of comparatively few parts that may be easily and cheaply manufactured and readily assembled. and which may be easily operated to afford considerable amusement without calling upon or necessitating any special skill in the actuation of the device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device including a disk like object which may be rotated either flatwise or on edge with equal facility.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions and arrangements of parts that I shall hereinafterV fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toy embodying the improvements of my invention; and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View thereof, the section being taken d1ametrically through and extending across the shaft carrying gears of the handle.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The device comprises an operating handle 1, preferably formed of a single sheet of flat metal having its opposite longitudinal edges concaved at the center thereof and bent laterally in contact with one side of said handle to form a marginal reinforcing bead surrounding one end of the handle and terminating short of the other. The metal constituting the opposite longitudinal edges of the handle, at the end of the reinforcing bead, is bent laterally on the side of the handle opposite the bead to form substantially triangular shaped ears 2.

3 designates a shaft which is journaled in the ears 2, extending transversely, as shown, and a spring 4lencircles said shaft, one end of the spring being secured to the shaft and the other to one of the ears, so that the spring will be placed under tension as the shaft 3 is turned in one direction. The shaft 3 carries a spur gear wheel 5 at one end, said wheel meshing with a s ur pinion G on another transverse shaft ]7 journaled in and between the ears 2 near the extremities or ends thereof. A cord 7n is intended to be wound. upon the shaft 7 so that by pulling upon said cord and unwinding the same from the shaft the shaft will be turned in a direction to place the spring 4c under tension. As soon as the tension of the cord 7a is released, the spring Il will be permitted to act to turn both of the shafts in the opposite direction and thereby wind the cord' upon the shaft preparatory to another actuation of the device.

The disk or top proper, designated 8, may be formed of sheet metal with its edge turned over a binding wire or the like, and the said disk formed with a centrally disposed turbinate portion 9, upon which it is designed to spin. The disk 8 may be detachably secured to the shaft 7 in any desired way. In the present instance I have shown this connection as formed by two oppositely extending angular pins 10 secured to the upper face of the disk 8, the shaft 7 being provided with oppositely extending pins 11 near one projecting end o the shaft outside of the adjacent ear 2, the said pins being designed to engage beneath the pins or hooks 10 with the protruding ex tremity of the shaft mounted in a central orifice 12 formed in the disk.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawing, it is believed that the operation of my improved toy is obvious.

In the practical use of the toy, the disk 8 is engaged with the pins 11 and held in a substantially horizontal position, and the cord 7L is then pulled upon to impart a rapid rotation to the shaft 7 and the consequent revolution of the disk. As soon as the pullingl movement on the cord 71 is terminated, the accelerated movement of the disk 8 will obviously detach the disk from the pins 11, so as to effect a spinning movcment of the disk on a table or other surface, while the spring 4 which has been placed under tension by the unwinding of the cordk the flat back of the handle and that the disk 8 is so proportioned that its radius is less than the distance between the shaft 7 and the fiat back of the handle. By this specific construction and arrangement of parts, it is evident that the toy may be used by laying the handle l with its back down flat on a table or other surface so that upon the manipulation of the cord 7a, the disk 8 may toy, .in addition to the operation of the device as a top.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: v

A toy of the character described, comprising a handle formed with a' flat back and lateral projections, a shaft mounted for rotation in said projections and extending in a plane parallel to the plane of the flat back, means for transmitting motion to said shaft, a disk of less radius than the distance between the fiat back of the handle and the shaft, and means for detachably connecting said disk to t-he shaft, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. PHENICE. [Ls] be caused to roll away on its rim or edge, litnessesz thus obviously affording a feature of amuse- W. S. SHEPHERD,

ment which will appeal to the users of the J. D. HUDSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

